Judge blocks jury from seeing “jackass” trophy in Musk v. Altman trial

In short: A judge said the jury in the Musk v. Altman trial will not see a novelty OpenAI trophy unless it becomes directly relevant to the case.

What happened

A small trophy became a talking point in the court fight between Elon Musk and Sam Altman over OpenAI. Reporters in the courtroom heard about it, but the jurors did not get to see it.

According to The Verge, the object looked like a little league trophy from far away. Up close, it was a novelty statue, and the inscription read, “Never stop being a jackass.” The trophy was said to be a gift from OpenAI employees to research scientist Josh Achiam, who testified in the case.

Altman’s legal team used the story to support its argument about Musk’s priorities when he was leaving OpenAI years ago. The claim is that Musk wanted OpenAI to move faster to beat Google, and Achiam, who worked on “AI safety” (ways to reduce the risk of AI causing harm), questioned that approach. The story says Musk called Achiam a “jackass,” although Musk denied the incident and said he might have said something like, “Don’t be a jackass.”

Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers ruled that jurors would not see the trophy unless Musk’s team gives OpenAI a reason to introduce it. As a result, the jury only heard about it, rather than viewing it.

Why it matters

Trials often turn on what evidence jurors are allowed to see, not just what exists. Even a silly object can shape how people interpret motives and credibility, but only if the judge decides it is relevant to the legal questions in the case.

Source: The Verge AI